Wednesday, Jan 25, 2012
Gulf News
Abu Dhabi Complaints about long waits to collect national ID cards from post offices after completing the application process will soon be a thing of the past.
The Emirates Identity Authority (Emirates ID) will start printing and delivering ID cards on the spot, similar to the prevalent practice for driving licences, a top official told Gulf News yesterday.
The authority will begin the process within three months with the renewal of Emiratis’ ID cards, said Dr Ali Al Khoury, director- general of Emirates ID.
After its roll-out for Emiratis, the process will also be extended to expatriates, he said.
Currently, an applicant has to apply for renewal either online or at a typing centre and the card is issued through post offices. The applicant does not need to visit Emirates ID registration centres for renewal if his or her biometrics are clear on the authority’s system. (He or she is notified of its status while applying for renewal).
“This system will continue but whoever wants the renewed card instantly can walk into [selected] Emirates ID registration centres and we will print the card on the spot [once the new system is launched],” Dr Al Khoury said.
He clarified that walk-in customers for renewal will not need appointments.
“In the case of Emiratis, we know when each one’s card is due for renewal so we can be prepared for a certain number of walk-in customers,” Dr Al Khoury said. “For expatriates, since the renewal of residence visa and ID cards has already been linked, we can manage to print the renewed cards on-the-spot at the registration centres attached to medical centres where applicants conduct medical tests for their visas.”
Online process
In future when on-the-spot printing starts for first-time applicants, they can get instant delivery of their cards at Emirates ID registration centres after completing the pre-registration process online or at typing centres and completing the biometrics and photograph procedures.
Dr Al Khoury said on-the-spot printing will begin at selected Emirates ID registration centres in Abu Dhabi for Emiratis within three months. Subsequently, more registration centres will be selected in other emirates as well.
Gradually, all centres across the country will offer on-the spot printing, especially after the necessary data has already been acquired and fed into the database.
Abu Dhabi Many Gulf News readers have been demanding on-the-spot printing of ID cards due to widespread complaints of delays in the delivery of the cards.
Commenting on the Gulf News website, Roy from Dubai said ID cards should be made available immediately after the successful completion of the registration and biometrics.
He wrote that the entire process should be just as fast as registering a car. A short wait for the card to be printed out and issued on the same day is way better than the hassle of coming for it another day, Roy wrote.
Haneef Puthur in Sharjah said delivering the cards on the spot should not be difficult for the authorities because driving licences are issued that way.
If the card is handed out there then the applicant will not need to waste time in registering, follow-up collection and other processes, he said.
Moreover it will ensure that all the cards printed reach the right people, Puthur said.
— B.A.K.
By Binsal Abdul Kader Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2012. All rights reserved.
